Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Adrienne Emerson - This Is How I Work

This week, we’re featuring Adrienne Emerson, an
important mentor to many students and the community. Her love for engineering began
in high school when she joined her school’s robotics team. She has been hooked ever
since and continues to inspires her students with her passion. Adrienne
expresses her adoration for robotics and helps us to understand her dedication
towards her team, The Robowranglers. Make sure to learn more and gain insight
on her life in and out of the lab below!

Hobbies: Cooking, Traveling, Playing with the best cats in
the world (Tornado and Tumbleweed)

What inspired you to do what you do? Tell us a
story.

I’ll never forget
joining the X-Cats in high school. I was in 10th grade without a single clue
what I wanted to do after high school. A couple of my friends had been on the
team in 9th grade. They said I should join because then I could come to Disney
World with them! That was enough of a hook for me. I interviewed for the team
and was placed on the drive train sub-team. I worked very closely with 4
mentors from Xerox Jan Eldrigde, Jeff Huspen, Ron Dukes, and Ellery Wong. They
are what inspired me. They pushed me to be curious, learn by doing, and to be
confident in my skills. As cliché as it sounds, they changed my life. After
being on 191, all I wanted to do was give back to students the same experiences
that I got to have in high school.

What is your day job, and how’d you get there?

Currently I am the
Director of Robotics 9-12 at Greenville ISD. I oversee the Intro to Engineering
courses, The VEX program, and the FRC program, as well as organize all of our
VEX events. I’ve previously taught Algebra 1, Geometry, Math Models, and
Pre-Calculus.

How I got from New
York to Texas is a classic, know the right people, in the right place, at the
right time. After college I worked for 3.5 years at a glass manufacturer,
Guardian Industries. It was a great experience and I learned a ton, but after 2
years on a swing shift I was ready to move on. The Robowrangler lead engineer
John V-Neun and I went to college together and their robotics teacher had just
left the school. The GHS principal asked John if he knew anyone that could
teach math and lead the robotics team. I interviewed about week later and got
the job!

What is your favorite story to tell about
robotics?

All my memories from
our team trips to China the past 2 years are definitely my favorite stories to
tell. It’s amazing to watch the 148 students (and all the international teams)
work with teams from China, develop friendships, and help build robots. The
best part of those trips has been watching how much the student’s leadership
skills grow in just 2 short weeks. And of course, I love how much closer we
grow as a team while we are there.

If I had to narrow it
down to one story it would be this past year. 148, 987, and 694 were on a 6-hour
bus ride to go see the Yellow Mountains. To pass the time, we took over the
microphone on the bus and took turns doing karaoke. I haven’t laughed that hard
in a long time.

What's your favorite robot that you didn't help
build?

This was probably the
hardest question on the whole survey. There are so many to choose from.

In all seriousness,
our whole team was really flattered by this robot! It was awesome.

What apps/software/tools can't you live without?
(Work/Robotics/Home)

Google Drive, Excel,
Slack, Spotify, Amazon Prime

What's your workspace setup like?
(Work/Robotics/Home)

The robotics program
at Greenville just got a new home in a brand new Career and Technology wing of
our high school. My classroom is a great space with a standard teacher set up,
desk, computer, projector, & document camera. The best part about is that
there are whiteboards everywhere, and my coffee maker is within arm’s reach.

I spend most of my
time in our robotics lab, which is basically a dream come true for me.

What do you listen to while you work?

Any old school music I
think my students should love as much as I do.

What’s your schedule like during build season?

Monday, Tuesday, and
Friday:

I get to work about
8am and have class until 3:50pm. After school I usually hang around the lab for
some quiet time, try to catch up on anything school or team related, or I hang
out with our

VEX teams if they have
practice after school. Our team mentor dinner is from 5:30-6:00, and our whole
team meeting is from 6:00-10:00pm.

Wednesday &
Thursday: After school I typically take the night off from team stuff and go to
bed early!

Saturday: I usually
get to the school an hour or two before the rest of the team to open the
building, clean up and get things ready for the day. Our scheduled meeting is
from 1:00-10:00 pm but we are rarely out before 11 or 12.

Sunday: We try to take
Sunday’s off as a whole team and I try to catch up on home life with lots of
kitty cuddles.

Tumbleweed
and Tornado

What everyday thing are you better at than
anyone else?

Being Awesome.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

Fake it till you make
it - My Mom

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

True Crime podcasts
(Serial, Undisclosed, Truth & Justice, etc.)

Fill in the blank. I'd love to see Clint Bolinger 2337 answer
these same questions.

“Do not go where the
path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph
Waldo Emerson